Martin & Jenny
From Sweden
Met them in Palu's surfboard shop on Poppies II in Kuta.
Baliblog: Where were you when the bombing happened?
Martin: We were in Sweden.
Baliblog: What did you do when you heard about it?
Martin: We heard about the bomb on October 1st, and our plane was due to leave on the 4th. So we got a bit worried but we decided to go anyway.
Baliblog: What did your friends and family say?
Martin: Our parents were quite worried but they said if they had planned the same trip they would have gone.
Baliblog: Since being here have you felt in danger, or what are your feelings?
Martin: Well we haven't felt danger and its our first time here so we don't know how its supposed to be here. It seems that is very calm.
Baliblog: Have the other tourists or locals talked to you about the bombing?
Martin: Well we've talked with some of the local about how they feel about it.
Baliblog: How long are you going to be here?
Martin: We are going to be here for 3 weeks. We will stay in Kuta then we are going to travel for 1 week.
Baliblog: I strongly advise going to East Bali, renting a little car, maybe a Suzuki, don't be afraid to explore and get lost and you really will see the Bali that you imagine.
Don't be scared to get off the main road down some little side road without a sign. It will go to some other main road after an hour probably and you will see all the images you think of.
Jenny: We were told that you need an international driving license.
Baliblog: Well here's the deal. If you go to rent a car, the guy who is renting it doesn't care, he just wants the money. You can actually rent a car with no form of ID in about 10 minutes. The only people who care about the license are the police if you get pulled over. In that case try to slip them 20,000rp and say "Maaf Ba Pak" (sorry Sir). He might say "Oh no licence, you must pay 100,000rp" , so you say "Come on, come on here's 50,000rp." You will probably not get pulled over. I have lived here for almost 3 years and this year I have not been pulled over.
Baliblog: After Bali where do you go?
Martin: We go to New Zealand for 3 weeks and then we continue on to Thailand for another 3 weeks.
Baliblog: Well I wish you both good luck.
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{ 3 comments }
We were pulled over 5 minutes after were left the rental car place, they wanted to see the international drivers license first thing, then the usual questions….where you stay?..how long you in Bali?..you like Bali?..where you from? It was a little unnerving at first, but completely harmless.
Nick,
With all due respect, but don’t you think you are just perpetuating the cops’ bad habit of taking bribes?
I think westerners should and can help the locals clean up their acts. And not the other way.
Nick,
you seem pretty keen on east Bali, is that because you have not been to the west, or is it a comparative analysis?
cheers
Gary
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